Springsteen collection finds new home in Jersey

(Reuters) - New Jersey's Monmouth University will be the new home for an archive of local hero Bruce Springsteen's collection of memorabilia from a long career in rock music, the school has announced.

Springsteen's "Special Collection," comprised of books, concert programs, magazine and newspaper articles and other printed memorabilia related to the rock legend and his E Street Band, whose hits include the 1984 smash "Born in the U.S.A.," will assume its new home as of November 1.

"Monmouth University is the perfect location for this outstanding collection," university president Paul Gaffney said in a statement.

"Students and faculty from Monmouth University, especially our music industry students, will benefit greatly from having access to these documents. I hope it will also serve as a valuable resource for members of the academic community," Gaffney added.

The collection, formerly housed at the Asbury Park Public Library, contains nearly 15,000 documents from 44 countries chronicling New Jersey native Springsteen's career that began as far back as the late 1960s.

Springsteen, 62, and his band released their debut album "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J." in 1973, but it was two years later with the album "Born to Run" that the group hit the top 10 of U.S. music charts and launched into stardom.

The move of Springsteen's memorabilia caps a four-year search for a new site in New Jersey that allowed for public access and had room for expansion to include recordings, oral histories and film footage.

Christopher Phillips, editor and publisher of Backstreets and president of the Friends of the Bruce Springsteen Special Collection, said that the partnership between Monmouth University and fans "offers a great opportunity."

"At the university, the collection will be publicly accessible to all who have a serious interest in Bruce Springsteen's life and career," Phillips said, citing students, scholars and journalists.
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